Starter Guide: Storm Mark Kennen (Top) Top

Kennen turns top lane into a shooting gallery. Every spell applies a Mark of the Storm, three marks is a stun, and Slicing Maelstrom (R) applies them to everyone at once.

Poke with Thundering Shuriken (Q) into melee tops who cannot answer it, and take short trades on Electrical Surge (W) procs. Lightning Rush (E) is the trade-opener and the escape - energy pays for one, not both, so pick. From 6, look for two-man stuns: Rush in, Maelstrom, Surge, and walk out with everything stunned behind you.

• Starting Items: Boots of Speed and Health Potions.
• Core Build: Sorcerer's Shoes, Rylai's Crystal Scepter to make every mark a slow, Rabadon's Deathcap for the storm itself, and Zhonya's Hourglass to cast Maelstrom in the middle of five people and live.
• Situational: Abyssal Scepter, Void Staff, Will of the Ancients, Guardian Angel.

Flash and Ignite: Flash to close the last bit of range on Lightning Rush, Ignite to punish anyone who thinks they traded even against the stun.

Max Thundering Shuriken (Q) for lane, then Electrical Surge (W) for the proc damage; one rank of Lightning Rush (E) carries until the teens.

9x Magic Penetration Marks, 9x Armor Seals, 9x Ability Power Glyphs, 3x Ability Power Quints. 21/0/9 masteries.

Hardest against Jax, Olaf, and Wukong - gap-closing bruisers who reach him between Lightning Rushes and have the Magic Resist to shrug off the marks. Strong against Garen, Sion, and Nasus, slow melee who can't dodge Thundering Shuriken or escape the stun chain. Pairs best with Amumu, Katarina, and Jarvan IV, whose own crowd control turns three marks into a guaranteed follow-up.

Combos worth drilling

• Two-Man Stun: E (Lightning Rush) into range -> R (Slicing Maelstrom) to tag everyone nearby -> W (Electrical Surge) to finish loading marks, walking out with the target(s) stunned behind you.
• Poke and Punish: Q (Thundering Shuriken) from max range to start the mark count -> auto-attacks to keep stacking marks -> stun on the third mark, followed by whatever's up.

Mistakes to avoid

• Don't use Lightning Rush (E) purely to engage: it's his only mobility spell, so burning it with nothing left to escape with is a bad trade against anyone with a gap closer of their own.
• Don't space spells too far apart: Mark of the Storm needs three landed in a short window to stun, and waiting too long between casts lets the count reset before it ever pays off.

• Early Game (Levels 1-5): Poke with Thundering Shuriken and only take fights where you can land the third mark for the stun before committing further.
• Mid Game (Levels 6-11): Look for two-man stuns near the wave with Lightning Rush into Slicing Maelstrom, then roam off a shoved lane once Maelstrom is up.
• Late Game (Levels 12+): Use Slicing Maelstrom to tag the entire enemy team in a teamfight and chain stuns off the marks it applies, picking off whoever gets locked down first.